A tooth, a personality, an ear ache

Nathaniel was teething last week. We know now because he has a tooth! He's got one little tooth partially sticking out in the middle on the bottom. We had a new experience over the weekend when we heard the little tooth clink against a metal spoon (we'd forgotten to pack the coated baby spoon during a short trip).

Unfortunately, the tooth wasn't the reason he was so fussy last week (or at least not the only reason). Nathaniel is now in his third round of antibiotics for an ear infection. Each infection is preceded by a cold and a runny nose. Apparently his nose drains back inside his sinuses back to around his ears, leading to the infection. And it appears the infection is VERY painful. We were convinced neighbors would call the police on us when he was screaming at 3 a.m.

The antibiotic regimen continues through Friday, but it appears he still has a bit of an infection as of today -- he was up several times overnight and was quite unhappy around 3 a.m. again. Bad news.

On the positive side, it's really exciting to see Nathaniel really developing a personality. He's incredibly inquisitive right now, trying to get into everything he can and moving like lightning to get to places he shouldn't be (underneath tables, in between furniture, etc.). I brought him home from day care yesterday and when he saw me, he got a really big smile and started to laugh happily. It's amazing to see him react like that to me -- recognizing Amanda and me and being excitied to see us. Very, very fun.